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What's with the Weather?

-- By Andrea Delbanco

Winter weather came late to the eastern United States this year. In other places, the bitter cold was an unfamiliar and unwelcome visitor. Last week, an icy grip took hold of much of the nation.

Balmy, springlike temperatures were a distant memory for the East Coast after a massive storm blew through the country. Arctic blasts carried rain, ice and snow from Texas to Maine, causing at least 65 deaths in nine states. Parts of Missouri and Oklahoma were declared federal disaster areas. Icy roads brought Texas to a standstill.

Topsy-Turvy Weather

Last year was the warmest on record for the U.S. That trend continued into the new year with New York City hitting a record-breaking 72ºF on January 6.

Meanwhile, severe cold has battered the West Coast. Seattle, Washington, has had more consecutive days with snow on the ground than it has had in over a decade. Two big blizzards dumped more than three feet of snow on Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma in late December.

Freezing temperatures in California destroyed $1 billion worth of the state's citrus crops. "This is not just about the crop this year," says California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "It could also have a devastating effect next year."

Scientists attribute some of the warmer winter weather to global warming. But a natural shift in weather patterns called El Niño (nee-nyo) is also affecting the storms. El Niño disrupts the way winds and ocean currents travel across the Pacific Ocean (see "El Niño's Effects").

The last severe El Niño took place in 1997n98. Although El Niño's effects usually peak in December, scientists predict the topsy-turvy weather could continue into this spring.

El NIño's Effects

El Niño is a natural climate shift. It warms the waters of the Pacific Ocean, which disturbs the flow of winds from their usual east-to-west pattern.

El Niño's effects can vary in strength, but the change always has some impact on weather patterns around the world.

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